Princess and Beer Selection

[westcliffo]

We have booked a cruise for next May ( Baltic ). As a long time fan of Princess I really have only one complaint...the lack of interesting beers. I hope that Princess has revamped their beer selection so that it mirrors, somewhat,  the number of wines available. In the best possible world I would be able to try a different beer each night at the fourteen dinners on the cruise!.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, westcliffo said:

We have booked a cruise for next May ( Baltic ). As a long time fan of Princess I really have only one complaint...the lack of interesting beers. I hope that Princess has revamped their beer selection so that it mirrors, somewhat,  the number of wines available. In the best possible world I would be able to try a different beer each night at the fourteen dinners on the cruise!.

 

Good luck. Princess doesn't understand good beer.

[Cruiserkenn]

I would like more beers to choose from, also.

 

On my recent cruises,  before COVID, I was always pleased that the outdoor bars had Heineken available on tap.  They also regularly had a dark draft beer, but I can't remember the name of it.

(I admit I am getting old!)

[triple7tahoe]

When you see (or are told) of a new selection of beers being brought aboard--grab one. I have seen, especially in non USA ports, different local beers being brought aboard in limited quantity and most are gone with in the first couple of days.  Pays to make friends with on board bartenders 🙂

 

[westcliffo]

Thank you. I will keep my eyes open!

[voljeep]

Newcastle is the dark beer ... maybe🍻

[charlie murphy]

did the baltic cruise out of southhampton a couple years ago and the ship had two local beers. I think the brewery was Bath I know one of the beers was GEM and then another from the brewery ( they were both good to my recall) . Every meal had gulden draak 9000. it was good.   In belgium brought beer on board and carried to straight to the room. no problem. so you may be in luck,   

[dreaminofcruisin]

No one really knows what the beer selection will be post - Covid, but here is what it was in October 2019:

 

[brisalta]

1 hour ago, Cruiserkenn said:

I would like more beers to choose from, also.

 

On my recent cruises,  before COVID, I was always pleased that the outdoor bars had Heineken available on tap.  They also regularly had a dark draft beer, but I can't remember the name of it.

(I admit I am getting old!)

 

Is Heineken actually a beer? I always thought of it as overprice chemical works effluent.

[brisalta]

25 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

No one really knows what the beer selection will be post - Covid, but here is what it was in October 2019:

 

 

Your second photograph shows several interesting beers. Was that from a West Coast sailing?

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

Newcastle is the dark beer ... maybe🍻

 

Newcastle suffers from the same problems I see with most Brown Ales. No body. The flavor is "ok" but the beer is "thin". We were in Colorado last month and visited Coopersmith's Brewery in Fort Collins. I had what was probably the very best Brown Ale I have ever had. If you are ever in Fort Collins, Colorado do yourself a favor and try the Brown Ale. Of course, since it's a small brewery, who knows if they actually have it on hand.

[memoak]

Princess has never had a good selection of beers, most of them are light wimpy American brands.  I have seen a Princess branded IPA which is just ok and some halfway decent British ales but other than those it is a poor selection.  Leaving in Oregon we are used to wide varieties of excellent brews from our local breweries

[brisalta]

41 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Newcastle suffers from the same problems I see with most Brown Ales. No body. The flavor is "ok" but the beer is "thin". We were in Colorado last month and visited Coopersmith's Brewery in Fort Collins. I had what was probably the very best Brown Ale I have ever had. If you are ever in Fort Collins, Colorado do yourself a favor and try the Brown Ale. Of course, since it's a small brewery, who knows if they actually have it on hand.

 

Newcastle Brown like most beer does not ship well. You really need to drink it draught in a pub in the north east of England

Edited June 17, 2021 by brisalta

[Cardex]

4 hours ago, westcliffo said:

We have booked a cruise for next May ( Baltic ).

 

We are new to Princess so I have been reading the Princess boards looking for info. We are thinking about doing the Baltic cruise on May 14th and we also love beer! We always have to try the local beer while in port and hope the ship will have a variety to try while on board. 

 

ps: We are also from NS and I love the restaurant from your screen name. I grew up a few blocks from it. It hasn't really changed much over the years 🙂

[dreaminofcruisin]

1 hour ago, brisalta said:

 

Your second photograph shows several interesting beers. Was that from a West Coast sailing?

 

Actually, it was a Canary Islands sailing from Southampton. Usually, the menus were pretty close to the same wherever the sailing was from....at least in our experience. Occasionally, there would be some not on the menu for something like one year near Oktoberfest they had Paulaner and it was just at the bar, but not listed on the menu.

[Cruiserkenn]

3 hours ago, voljeep said:

Newcastle is the dark beer ... maybe🍻

Yes!  Thanks!  Newcastle is the dark draft beer at the outside bars, that I had in mind.

 

Thanks again!

[mtnesterz]

As mentioned, sometimes in ports they'll bring onboard some local brews. A bartender might get a supply of a Baltic Porter, given your itinerary. With luck you'll find an Imperial Stout. Either would be a real treat!

While beer does not usually have the shelf life of wine or liquor, IPAs were designed for transfer on a ship. From the shown menu, I'd recommend the Lagunitas IPA.

 

 

 

[Steelers36]

I thought they had some additional "English Pub" type beers when holding the fish & chips lunch on sea days.  Perhaps I am forgetting and nothing more than the ones listed on the menu above.  If they had something of interest, buy some extras and take to cabin fridge. 

 

IMO, the first seven beers are too many to represent the mass market big-brewery swill.  (I feel the same about Labatt and Molson in Canada, BTW).  Some more imagination here and there would be nice. 

 

Someone mentioned Heineken.  I think it is brewed in USA and not the real thing, so cruises out of US ports at least likely have that one??? 

 

The Grolsch in the large glass bottle with and special sealer top is good value IIRC.

 

[Prometheus1]

I know I have had John Smiths and Boddingtons on Princess ships, quite delicious

[Thrak]

We often just settle for Bass Ale. (Note: Bass Ale is actually brewed Baldwinsville, New York. It was purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 2000.) Princess doesn't understand beer. We were lucky enough to be on a ship that had been to Alaska just before our cruise. One of the bars on Lido deck had a small supply of Alaskan Brewing Company beer left. He sold it to us unopened and we took it to our cabin.

 

As for Heineken... Go to Aruba and you will discover they sell it in little bitty (8 oz?) bottles and it's as expensive as a 12 oz beer anywhere else. According to info from Google:

 

As of 2017, Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 250 international, regional, local and speciality beers and ciders and employs approximately 73,000 people.

 

I was surprised to find that Heineken owns beers such as Dos Equis and Lagunitas.

 

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Thrak

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, Prometheus1 said:

I know I have had John Smiths and Boddingtons on Princess ships, quite delicious

As a Brit, I would have to disagree about John Smiths. Just a chemical gloop with no redeeming factors whatsoever.  

Boddingtons 50 years ago was fantastic, and, as a student, my beer of choice. Unfortunately,  over the years,  the beer is now only a shadow of its former self, but still far better than JS. 

 

[Prometheus1]

At the time, I enjoyed them, was something different 🙂 

Something for everyone, just not on Princess. 

 

 

[Lucky TGO]

10 hours ago, Thrak said:

We often just settle for Bass Ale. (Note: Bass Ale is actually brewed Baldwinsville, New York. It was purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 2000.) Princess doesn't understand beer. We were lucky enough to be on a ship that had been to Alaska just before our cruise. One of the bars on Lido deck had a small supply of Alaskan Brewing Company beer left. He sold it to us unopened and we took it to our cabin.

 

As for Heineken... Go to Aruba and you will discover they sell it in little bitty (8 oz?) bottles and it's as expensive as a 12 oz beer anywhere else. According to info from Google:

 

As of 2017, Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 250 international, regional, local and speciality beers and ciders and employs approximately 73,000 people.

 

I was surprised to find that Heineken owns beers such as Dos Equis and Lagunitas.

 

 

Thrak , Your the BEST when it comes to this subject. 🍺 🥃 🍹 🍾

The next time I stock the bar on The Rowboat I will give you a call. 😁😁

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[Esprit]

On 6/18/2021 at 1:50 AM, Steelers36 said:

 

 

The Grolsch in the large glass bottle with and special sealer top is good value IIRC.

 

This was my "go to" lager until Peroni was introduced by the cruise lines. Sailaways with a Peroni or three watching the port disappear in the distance and the sun beaming down. Life doesn't get any better.

Edited June 21, 2021 by Esprit

[Thrak]

12 hours ago, Esprit said:

This was my "go to" lager until Peroni was introduced by the cruise lines. Sailaways with a Peroni or three watching the port disappear in the distance and the sun beaming down. Life doesn't get any better.

 

I have never tasted Peroni. Sounds like I need to remedy that when I get a chance.